A portable communication device (PCD), also referred to as personal communication device, such as a cell phone is often powered by a battery, which has a limited lifetime. To extend the lifetime of the battery, a conventional PCD can automatically switch between low and high power consumption modes based on a given triggering event or condition. Different power modes can be selected depending on whether a particular component or function of the device is active or not. For instance, a cell phone may switch between an inactive mode and an active mode depending on whether the user is actively using the cell phone. The cell phone is normally set to an inactive, and low power consumption, mode when it is not actively used. The cell phone is set to an active, and high power consumption, mode when it is actively used, such as to make a phone call or to play media content received over a wireless network by way of data streaming.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide alternative or improved power saving techniques for PCDs.